JP-A-2002-71389 discloses a pointer type display device that improves visibility of present set contents of control parameters, including an amount of air and a set air outlet, in an operation panel for an air conditioner used in a vehicle or the like, while enhancing the design quality of the operation panel. When the display device shows that the air conditioner is in a manual mode, a pointer is rotatably driven in an analog manner by a motor on a dial in response to changing of a set value of the parameter by the operation of a dial knob. Further, when the amount of air or the set air outlet is automatically changed on the air conditioner side for automatic temperature control in an automatic mode, a changing parameter set value is timely displayed in the analog manner by the pointer. Thus, the present parameter set value can be directly read at any time, to lead to more detailed understanding of an operating state of the air conditioner in the automatic mode.
In the structure disclosed in JP-A-2002-71389, however, the pointer is moved uniformly regardless of the operating mode of the air conditioner. By only looking at the state of the display device, it is impossible to immediately determine in which mode the air conditioner is now operating.